


Moments Left Unspoken

by C1ashi1dr



Series: Seven Days of Cophine [3]
Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Freeform, Orphan Black Season 1, but just a bit, just me goofing around with Delphine's character really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:47:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24784090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/C1ashi1dr/pseuds/C1ashi1dr
Summary: Delphine Cormier didn't know what she was getting into when she signed a contract with Dyad to monitor a subject in a scientific experiment. She just wished it wasn't so hard.
Relationships: Delphine Cormier/Cosima Niehaus
Series: Seven Days of Cophine [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1789588
Comments: 6
Kudos: 27





	Moments Left Unspoken

**Author's Note:**

> this was for the prompt Unspoken Lies but it kinda shifted away from that as I was writing it. however, i'm really proud with how this turned out and I hope y'all like me kinda messing about with Delphine and her character in season 1. I always found her fascinating. Enjoy!

Delphine knows the moment that she scrawls her signature across the bottom of the page on Aldous's desk that she's taking steps into a world she may not return from. Human cloning? She'd never thought she'd see the day when it was possible, let alone already in progress, already accomplished, but here she is, shaking the hand of the head of the program, trying to disguise how nervous about this she is. 

It's not that working with Aldous Leekie puts her on edge (she's been a research assistant of his for almost two years, she knows him, however unpleasant she finds him at times ) but the thought of human clones, ready to be monitored...it sets her heart racing in her chest, beating against her ribs in an unsteady rhythm. When he lets her hand go to file away the contract, Aldous begins speaking, though she barely pays attention to what he is saying.

"Now Delphine, your subject is a scientist, much like you are me. She's recently moved from California to finish her degree at the University of Minnesota. We aren't sure why she's made this sudden move, I'd like for you, on top of your other duties, to get close and see if she'll tell you why she moved." He's speaking in a tone that she's never heard before. In all her time working with him, she's never heard that harsh edge creep up, even when one of the other assistants broke a plate or a flask or mixed up a set of samples. It was even more unnerving, though this entire encounter has set her teeth on edge. "You'll be leaving in the morning."

"Of course, Dr. Leekie," Delphine says, gathering her jacket, her bag. She'd not known initially, what it meant, this late night meeting he'd requested but she'd done her best to prepare for whatever it was. "I'll be prepared." 

"I hope you do well, Dr. Cormier." She can hear the smug smile in his voice when, a few seconds later, he adds, "Or, should I say, Miss Beraud."

It takes a moment for Delphine to remember, to register the name that she'll be using from now on. It feels wrong, the name doesn't fit her and somehow it feels like Aldous drew a last name out of a hat and presented it to her. She knows it's for safety, so her subject cannot simply research her name and figure out who she is, but it leaves the bitter taste of falsehood ringing in Delphine's mouth, one that lingers as she exits Dyad and flags a taxi to return to her apartment. It's hard to believe that it is the last time before she departs for Minnesota in the morning. 

She doesn't sleep much that night, thinking over the enigma that is sure to be 324B21. It's one of the biggest projects that Delphine has ever been involved in, and she's read all the files fifty times over. She knows more about the woman known as Cosima Niehaus than she probably should, but between the reports of her old monitor and various interactions with other Dyad employees, Cosima's personality shines through. There's no doubt in her mind that this is going to be difficult.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meeting Cosima Niehaus wasn't as difficult as Delphine had expected. It had taken a bit of fabrication (Delphine hesitates to call it lying, she hates to think that's what she's doing) sitting in a lab, on the phone with a fake boyfriend, but she's caught Cosima's attention. And Delphine can't help but admit that Cosima, in turn, has caught hers. 

She tries to make it look like an accident, the times she sees Cosima around campus. She wonders if she's overplaying it, going too fast, but Aldous is constantly at her back, pushing her and pushing her to get closer until, one day, the library, everything comes to a head. It is finally the time to win Cosima over. 

"Hey, Delphine," the woman says, tapping her fingers against the edge of Delphine's table. They talk, and, when the time comes to hand Cosima the flyer like Aldous had planned, Delphine hesitates for a moment. She can't do this, she can't lie her way through life-

And then she comes back to herself, hands over the flyer with a grin that she hopes is charming and gains the assurance that Cosima will be there. The next day, when Delphine sees her across the lab, working with that other student, guilt surges in her gut. She gathers her papers, stacks them neatly (she's acting just as she did back in Paris during school, trying to sell this false life) and she intercepts Cosima before she can leave. 

"Do you want to get coffee?" she asks, hoping that she'll say no and also hoping that she'll say yes. She's gone off script for the first time since arriving in Minnesota and it's both freeing and terrifying. 

"Sure," Cosima says, smiling brightly and urging Delphine to lead the way to a quaint cafe down the street from the university, a simple walk away from the main part of campus. It's close enough that Cosima can catch any class that she needs to and Delphine has a convenient excuse to leave if things get too personal. She hasn't quite worked out most of her story yet, there's a lot of gaps and contradicting herself isn't an option. The goal is to make Cosima trust her. Cosima has to trust her, or this version of her or something else entirely.

"You liking classes here?" It's Cosima who speaks first when they take a small window seat in the cafe, nursing cups. "Gotta be different from Paris."

"Oh, yes," Delphine says, smiling shyly. "Very different, though that is not in a bad way. It is just not quite what I am used to." She's rambling, but Cosima is giving her an encouraging smile and Delphine is quick to ask a question of her own. "Any advice for a new student?"

"I'm not sure," Cosima says. "Just started here too, a couple weeks ago. It's been nice though, I'm really enjoying it."

It went like that back and forth, back and forth. Delphine deflects the questions that stray too close to putting her in a tight position, and she's proud of the way she navigates. She's even more proud of the times she manages to make Cosima laugh, head thrown back. 

Both of their coffees go untouched.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Delphine is riding on a high. She thinks it might be love, maybe the treasure of having another person so thoroughly understand her. Despite the files, she'd never believed that she and Cosima could connect on such a level, but she is ready to admit how wrong she's been. 

After their first time, she made sure to keep in touch with Cosima as they both went about their days, oftentimes unable to meet for more than a quick chat over lunch or a stroll to one building or another. Though that's not what is stirring nerves in Delphine's stomach. No, it's that she'd not spoken to Aldous for a few days. She'd not replied to his calls for a single day, spending time gathering more information, learning about Cosima's schedule and spending more time with the clone herself that she'd not had time. And she didn't want to.

Aldous could get...territorial. This much she'd learned early on, when he'd taken interest in her as his protege. Rumors could fly all they liked, she'd never confirm or deny but the moment she'd started to make an emotional connection to another person, another scientist, he'd gone more hostile. Things were starting to fall apart on that end, though Delphine could hardly pay attention to that. She has Cosima.

She knocks on the door to Cosima's apartment, bag containing wine and truffles hanging from her wrist as she pushes open the door. Cosima is perched at her desk, curled up and Delphine enters, letting the door fall shut behind her with a quiet click. 

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr: [@joanwolfe](https://joanwolfe.tumblr.com/)
> 
> tomorrow's prompt: star-crossed orphans
> 
> take care of yourselves
> 
> ~~ jo


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